Anyone like traffic circles-roundabouts?

[Bearsixty7]

And, people are creatures of habit. If you make stoplights with irregular timing, turn lights, etc., it causes more wrecks in the long run.

You'll have to explain that one. A red light is a red light. I don't see this happening.

I have seen where if I come up to a 4 way intersection and there is no other traffic, I get a green light within ~30 seconds. They just need time to turn the other lights yellow then red before I get the green.

 

[Jstpssng]

I've mentioned this before about traffic lights... there's nothing more frustrating than driving on a main artery through a town and as the light you're sitting at turns green seeing the next one turn red. I've been places where this happens 4 or 5 times in a row.

 

[Bearsixty7]

I've mentioned this before about traffic lights... there's nothing more frustrating than driving on a main artery through a town and as the light you're sitting at turns green seeing the next one turn red. I've been places where this happens 4 or 5 times in a row.

Some of the main roads from my small town area into NE Dallas/Plano kind of reflect that. If you drive the posted speed limit or slower you WILL stop at more traffic lights. I have figured out over time that if I drive about 5-8mph over posted speed limits, I can get through more intersections without being stopped.
What really aggravates me is where we have nice 2 lane or 3 lane each direction roads with 45mph speeds, people will get side by side doing 45 or slower and stay there side by side holding up several cars behind them.

 

[Gee Ray]

Some of the main roads from my small town area into NE Dallas/Plano kind of reflect that. If you drive the posted speed limit or slower you WILL stop at more traffic lights. I have figured out over time that if I drive about 5-8mph over posted speed limits, I can get through more intersections without being stopped.
What really aggravates me is where we have nice 2 lane or 3 lane each direction roads with 45mph speeds, people will get side by side doing 45 or slower and stay there side by side holding up several cars behind them.

What really gets me are the people that think they have the right to break the law. If I am at the speed limit I am not going to move over so that you can speed. Honk your horn and flash your lights will result in nothing from me. I will drive the speed limit until the lane beside me turns or slows or whatever. I am not obligated to brake or break the law so that you can speed.

 

[Passattdi]

There are quite a few around here, and almost every one is different. Driving through a new one is like solving one of those interlocking wire puzzles. Sometimes through traffic is left lane, sometimes right lane. Some are one lane, some are two lane, and some are mixtures.

I drove through this recently finished one twice yesterday, for the first time each way. No fun. This replaced a simple 3-way signaled intersection. I was told there have been accidents by confused drivers.


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Bruce

Personally the idiot that came up with these things belongs in washington dc. With the rest that are there!

 

[ning]

What really gets me are the people that think they have the right to break the law. If I am at the speed limit I am not going to move over so that you can speed. Honk your horn and flash your lights will result in nothing from me. I will drive the speed limit until the lane beside me turns or slows or whatever. I am not obligated to brake or break the law so that you can speed.

You're not obligated to break the law, but in most states you are legally obligated to move right if you're not actively passing another vehicle as the left lane is theoretically reserved for passing.

In California (CMVC 21654), it's "slower traffic keep right" (black on white sign: not a cautionary sign but instead states the law), which means you don't have to be passing, but you do have to move right if you're slower than someone behind you. Notice how it doesn't say "unless you're already going the speed limit", and you shouldn't assume that either, because people do get tickets for violating this.

 

[JasperFrank]

Eugene/Springfield, OR, has embraced them also. This is my least favored. Just when you think you are done with one, you go in to another. A stranger to this area, wouldn't have clue which lane to be in. Three years of construction killed off the motorcycle/ag business in the upper left corner. Personally, I didn't like this business. But still didn't want to see them ended by a long term road construction.

 

[kenmbz]

In some states they put in yield signs, not always to the same effect.
Some are yield in circle!
In Cairo, traffic circle meant everyone go at the same time and pedestrians were not considered. It was fun and we hired a driver pretty quickly.

 

[JasperFrank]

And this one is interesting because some one didn't get the memo that this road is used by logging trucks. So the rear carriages always go over the little radius they built in and the curb just gets destroyed every year and then rebuilt. And I don't go to the store on the upper right corner any more, cause of the way traffic has been redirected. Prior to a round about, this intersection was never a problem for me.

 

[JasperFrank]

Roundabouts are the best thing since sliced bread for drivers in cars, not so good for pedestrians and trucks.

I hate Traffic lights, especially in the middle of the night waiting 5 minutes for a light to change and no other car in sight other than the cruiser parked idle at a donut shop parking lot 2 blocks down the road.

You've never watched traffic from the top of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

 

[plowhog]

If I am at the speed limit I am not going to move over so that you can speed. Honk your horn and flash your lights will result in nothing from me.

If you think you are driving the speed limit, you are probably not. Speedometers are set "fast" from the factory so when you have it set on 65 "indicated" you are probably only doing 62.

It's just courtesy to move right if there are cars wanting to pass, whether you are at the limit or not. I drive I-80 over Donner Summit frequently. There are always a few cars who drive the limit in the fast lane, and they snarl traffic for miles. A lot of drivers behind them get frustrated and do some dangerous things trying to get past the single vehicle responsible for the massive snarl. Some drivers "pace" a semi for 2, 3, 5 miles or more without budging forward or back. Maybe the drivers of those vehicles feel righteous, but they cause dangerous situations for everyone behind them. While they are pacing the semi, everyone else is tied up and the traffic just gets thicker and thicker which is not good.

btw, I-15 from Los Angeles to Las Vegas is one of the fastest average speed highways in the country. I once set my cruise control at 90mph, and ran for 20-30 miles at that speed. I passed two cars and was passed by nine. If you were driving the 65 or 70mph limit you would be an extreme hazard to others. For a stretch I ran it up to 100mph, held it there for a while, and I was still getting passed.

 

[grsthegreat]

If you think you are driving the speed limit, you are probably not. Speedometers are set "fast" from the factory so when you have it set on 65 "indicated" you are probably only doing 62.

It's just courtesy to move right if there are cars wanting to pass, whether you are at the limit or not. I drive I-80 over Donner Summit frequently. There are always a few cars who drive the limit in the fast lane, and they snarl traffic for miles. A lot of drivers behind them get frustrated and do some dangerous things trying to get past the single vehicle responsible for the massive snarl. Some drivers "pace" a semi for 2, 3, 5 miles or more without budging forward or back. Maybe the drivers of those vehicles feel righteous, but they cause dangerous situations for everyone behind them. While they are pacing the semi, everyone else is tied up and the traffic just gets thicker and thicker which is not good.

btw, I-15 from Los Angeles to Las Vegas is one of the fastest average speed highways in the country. I once set my cruise control at 90mph, and ran for 20-30 miles at that speed. I passed two cars and was passed by nine. If you were driving the 65 or 70mph limit you would be an extreme hazard to others. For a stretch I ran it up to 100mph, held it there for a while, and I was still getting passed.

i dont believe they are. ive checked mine against my garmin and phone gps. dead on. also the police have those radar units set up around town..they always say same as my speedometer. unless all units are in cahoots.

 

[ultrarunner]

Don't forget the effect when moving up or down in tire size...

 

[Gee Ray]

If you think you are driving the speed limit, you are probably not. Speedometers are set "fast" from the factory so when you have it set on 65 "indicated" you are probably only doing 62.

It's just courtesy to move right if there are cars wanting to pass, whether you are at the limit or not. I drive I-80 over Donner Summit frequently. There are always a few cars who drive the limit in the fast lane, and they snarl traffic for miles. A lot of drivers behind them get frustrated and do some dangerous things trying to get past the single vehicle responsible for the massive snarl. Some drivers "pace" a semi for 2, 3, 5 miles or more without budging forward or back. Maybe the drivers of those vehicles feel righteous, but they cause dangerous situations for everyone behind them. While they are pacing the semi, everyone else is tied up and the traffic just gets thicker and thicker which is not good.

btw, I-15 from Los Angeles to Las Vegas is one of the fastest average speed highways in the country. I once set my cruise control at 90mph, and ran for 20-30 miles at that speed. I passed two cars and was passed by nine. If you were driving the 65 or 70mph limit you would be an extreme hazard to others. For a stretch I ran it up to 100mph, held it there for a while, and I was still getting passed.

So if there are a bunch of people breaking the law then it is ok for you to do it also? I hope to God you never have to drag a body out of a tangled piece of metal that was once a car. Yes I have. It is all good until something goes wrong.

Try being one of the workers on a highway and the "I am better then the law" a$$holes speeds through the construction zone. It is frightening and dangerous.

Speed limits are set for a reason. And if by obeying the law I inconvenience you, tuff.

Should I only obey the laws that I think are right? When the speed limit is 20 mph in the school zone and some idiot runs it at 40 mph I should run 40 in the school zone too? And yes I have had to stop and hold a child that was on his way to school. He was run over by a speeding truck. And I watched people drive around him until I could block the road with my truck and trailer.

Did I tick off a bunch of people by blocking the road? Well, yes I did. And I do not regret making those people slow down and stop. The firetruck, the ambulance and the police blocked the intersection and took over the first aid.

With over 1,000,000 miles under my bumper I have seen some stupid stuff on the roads. And one of the most dangerous that I see everyday is the one that thinks he has the right to go as fast as they want.

 

[plowhog]

So if there are a bunch of people breaking the law then it is ok for you to do it also?

A significant issue of safety is reasonably matching the flow of traffic.

If the flow is predominantly above, at, or below the speed limit for a particular stretch, you are likely a safer driver by maintaining a similar speed. Just as you loath speeders, someone plugging up traffic causing tempers to flare in following vehicles can also be a contributor to accidents.

 

[lman]

A significant issue of safety is reasonably matching the flow of traffic.

If the flow is predominantly above, at, or below the speed limit for a particular stretch, you are likely a safer driver by maintaining a similar speed. Just as you loath speeders, someone plugging up traffic causing tempers to flare in following vehicles can also be a contributor to accidents.

Usually there is a right lane for slower traffic. Driving at the same speed as traffic in the other lane is what causes traffic jams.

 

[k0ua]

my speedometer matches the radar signs around here perfectly.

 

[plowhog]

my speedometer matches the radar signs around here perfectly.

Interesting to hear that from multiple members. I don't think I have ever had a vehicle whose odometer was not calibrated to show a faster speed than actual. I usually budget 3mph.

Curious-- have you ever compared it to a hand held gps?

 

[ning]

Some drivers "pace" a semi for 2, 3, 5 miles or more without budging forward or back

This one irks the heck out of me.
These people don't realize what danger they're in, either, considering how often tires seem to blow out on those things, or how often I see semis weaving in their lane. If I'm in a line of cars passing, I'll slow down as I approach the semi to let the guy in front of me get past it, and then I'll just pass it all at once so I'm not stuck behind traffic while sitting next to a semi.
And on a motorcycle this goes double!

 

[ultrarunner]

Recent trip indicated was consistently 3 mph slower than radar speed at 65 mph in Toyota.

I don't like looking in the rear view especially on an 800 mile leg so set the cruise at 68 and never pass anyone... well almost no one.